On July 12, 2024, part of the employees of Evolution Georgia went on strike demanding better working conditions. The strike was supported by Labor (the Trade Union of Agriculture, Trade, and Industry). According to the trade unions, 4,621 people joined the protest, while the company claimed the number was closer to 700. Makeshift tents were set up at the entrance of the company’s building.

Evolution Georgia, a subsidiary of the Swedish company Evolution AB, was founded in 2018. At the time the protest began, it employed around 7,000 people, with an average age of 25. The company provides online casino services, offering live-dealer games streamed from Evolution’s studios.

The strikers presented 44 demands, most of which focused on a 100% salary increase and improvements in hygiene conditions. They also spoke of humiliating and mocking behavior from management. According to leaked internal communications published by the online media platform Mautskhebeli, managers mocked dealers for things like fingernail length, clothing, weight, or skin color.

On the 24th day of the strike, August 5, Evolution Georgia temporarily suspended operations in Georgia. The strikers viewed this as their first victory, while the company began collecting signatures from other employees against the strikers.

“If the current situation does not change, the company will be forced to make operational adjustments, including the termination of employment contracts, in order to limit our presence in Georgia,” read the company’s statement.

By August 8, the strikers announced a hunger strike, and on August 9, the company said it would need to reduce its workforce by 1,000 employees.

On the 33rd day of the strike, August 13, four of the strikers began a hunger strike, and one of them later sewed their mouth shut. On August 21, the company urged employees “not to endanger their health, to take care of themselves, as this form of protest will not change Evolution’s position, which is clear to all parties.” The following day, the Public Defender met with the strikers.

On August 26, 2024, those who had been on hunger strike for the previous two weeks announced they were ready to end their protest if the strikers received their salaries.

A year later, on April 5, 2025, Labor reported that it had defended the interests of 541 Evolution employees before the courts, police, the Public Defender’s Office, and the Personal Data Protection Service, as well as in direct disputes with the employer. “As a result of court proceedings and settlements, the total amount of money won and received by employees reached 149,186 GEL.”

On August 5, 2025, Sweden’s National Contact Point also published the results of its inquiry. The organization had been approached in 2024 by the Social Justice Center on behalf of the striking workers and their trade union, Evo-Union. After reviewing the case, the Swedish authority urged the company to begin dialogue with the employees and take adequate measures to protect workers’ health and safety. Evolution refused, arguing that such a process “would not yield any results.”